Minns government accelerating maintenance to improve rail reliability

Three of Sydney’s busiest stations - Town Hall, Circular Quay and St James – will close this weekend as part of the Minns Labor Government’s commitment to improving rail reliability. A maintenance blitz will upgrade critical tracks, circuits and remove more than 70 defects.

The $35 million Reliability Maintenance Program focused on critical maintenance zones is running six months ahead of schedule, with targets now extended across tracks, signalling, security improvements, drainage and electrical systems.

With an average of 2.67 million Opal tap-ons and tap-offs every week last year on the City Circle, it is one of the prioritised critical maintenance and asset renewal zones.

Three of the city’s busiest stations on the City Circle are the focus of weekend work, reflecting the volume of passengers passing through this line and stations, and the effects of network disruption when incidents occur. Work to deliver a more reliable network includes:

• Town Hall Station track replacement: 500 metres of rail will be replaced, targeting and prioritising life expired or surface defect rail, which can cause rough ride or over time potentially result in broken rail.

• Circular Quay Station track circuits upgrades. There are hundreds of track circuits across the network, helping control railway signals and the safe flow of trains. We are accelerating the rollout of new track circuits and upgrades to other signals infrastructure. The new track circuits have a predicted reliability of over 20 years, more than tripling the estimated reliability of the older circuits.

• St James Station track reconditioning. Removing ballast impacted by spoil and mud which can result in defects and rough rides. This work will also ensure the track drainage system is effective in removing water from the track. Excess water and mud around track elements such as fastenings and rail can cause corrosion leading to rail breaks that impact services and increased maintenance work being needed.

This work represents the type of targeted, high-impact maintenance Sydney Trains is prioritising to create a more reliable network for the millions of people who depend on the heavy rail network.

With trains not running on the City Circle this weekend, passengers travelling in the CBD are encouraged to use Metro, Light Rail or local buses.

Town Hall Station gates and platforms will be closed while the work is completed but the concourse around the station will remain open to allow public access to retail and services. Train services will continue on the T4 Eastern Suburbs Line, skipping the Town Hall stop.

Minister for Transport John Graham said:

“We made a clear commitment to improve reliability on the rail network, and trackwork such as this on the City Circle is essential to deliver this.

“This important and challenging weekend of trackwork will be carried out safely by skilled crews acutely aware that work needs to progress efficiently to completion, so the City Circle is ready to welcome tens of thousands of commuters on Monday morning.

“We appreciate this causes some disruption for people traveling in the CBD over the weekend, but we need to take this time to improve resilience and reliability at the busiest and most complex zones of the network, used by thousands of rail passengers every day.

“I am pleased that our Reliability Maintenance Program is tracking six months ahead of schedule and we have now extended the program targets.”

Chief Executive Sydney Trains Matt Longland said:

“Replacing half a kilometre of rail at a large underground station like Town Hall, in the heart of the Sydney CBD, requires a high level of planning, coordination and expertise to ensure work progresses safely and efficiently.

“I would like to thank the staff who safely and diligently complete this vital maintenance work over the weekend before tens of thousands of commuters converge on the City Circle on Monday morning.

“We appreciate the public’s patience while this important maintenance work is undertaken.”

Background

Following the release of the Independent Rail Review in September, Sydney Trains is accelerating work to strengthen reliability and safety across the network. Trackwork in the most critical zones is enabled by an investment of $458.4 million.

• A key target milestone of the Rail Maintenance Program 2025 was to remove 1600 defects in one year which was achieved in December last year. The work has continued at pace though, with more than 1800 defects now having been removed, with an ongoing focus on maintenance over the coming months and years.

• As of mid-March 2026, Sydney Trains has delivered:

• 140 km of track resurfacing and grinding

• 6.78 km of new track installed and 294 metres of track reconditioned

• 110 turnouts (where tracks meet) resurfaced or ground

• 2636 additional asset assurance inspections on signalling and electrical systems.

• 52 overhead wiring joints upgraded to a more reliable arrangement

• 279 signalling component renewals and upgrades

• Strathfield drainage repairs completed

• 20 new track circuits have been installed

• 18 new track circuits upgraded

• 8 new train stops (trackside emergency speed control safety systems) installed to newer more reliable types

The works are improving track stability and reliability of city underground and inner west corridors.